


A Slice of Cake

by Flutterbat



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: A bit of guilt, Background Relationships, Competition, F/M, Fan fic of a fan fic, Happy Nagamas, Modern AU, Nagamas, Nagamas 2018, Rivalry, Tiny bit of thinking of a certain redhead, Xanoka is Background, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-24 21:27:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17108435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flutterbat/pseuds/Flutterbat
Summary: When Marx had woken up, his head was pounding and he didn’t really remember much from the night before. It was clear that something big had happened though as there was a rather large clue lying in the bed next to him…It's the morning after the night before, but unfortunately for Marx Anya he has some other things he needs to focus on.Nagamas 2018 Gift Fic for Dameceles, based on her Bird's Milk story!





	1. A Slice of Cake

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dameceles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dameceles/gifts).



When Marx had woken up, his head was pounding and he didn’t really remember much from the night before. It was clear that something big had happened though as there was a rather large clue lying in the bed next to him… a certain Hinoka Byakuya, the photographer from Skyhorse magazine, passed out and dead to the world. That made him panic somewhat, aside from failing to maintain a professional relationship with a journalist who was documenting his tournament, if he was honest with himself he found Hinoka to be rather pretty, and would have liked to perhaps get to know her better using a more conventional method. He did notice they were both still clothed though, and he felt overwhelmingly relieved that he hadn’t completely ruined their relationship. His stomach then rumbled which prompted him to move - Hinoka was still out for the count, so after changing quietly in the bathroom he slipped out to get some breakfast.

There were a number of takeaway breakfast places close to the hotel and he was grateful for that, however it was during his supposed brief trip that he was swamped by other photographers putting their lenses right in his face. When they asked him about the marriage he started to piece together what must have happened the previous evening and his heart sank. Something as standard as a trip to get stationary, coffee and sandwiches then somehow became a gauntlet of dodging paparazzi and press that were currently swarming the tournament.

He wasn’t sure what made him stop by the bakery, but he decided it was fate when he saw the cake. He paused, unsure if Hinoka would even still be in his hotel room on his return, but taking a deep breath he decided to indulge anyway. If she wasn’t there then he could always arrange to have it sent to her room with a note of apology later.

***

Hinoka _was_ still there when he returned, and she liked the cake or appeared to at least. After the initial conversation about the night before, they spent some time passing notes and trying to converse. While it was initially awkward broaching the subject of a drunk marriage, they had moved on to other topics (helped by the cake), and it was pleasant. Eventually though, she had to leave, and as she departed he managed to string together “Happy you like,” pointing to the cake box. The smile she gave him in return as she departed was worth a million dollars and she also said something to go along with it, what though - he hadn’t a clue so he just smiled as unawkwardly as he could in return.

He would have quite happily spent all morning thinking about Hinoka and her smile, but he was brought back to reality with a bump - or more precisely, the rumble of his phone. He’d been purposely ignoring it since he’d woken up but now free of distraction, he didn’t really have an excuse.

Marx picked the devise up, and saw there were 19 text messages and 11 missed calls, and he couldn’t hold in a sigh. He decided to work through them methodically, as not to miss something.

The first one is from Gunter. _If you think you’re missing training, you’ve got another thing coming. Gym session booked for 10:30. If you’re serious about winning this tournament, be early._

He checked the time. The gym wasn’t far and he still had a little time to get ready… his handler was strict at the best of times and didn’t like to be kept waiting, so he immediately sent Gunter a message telling him he’ll be there ASAP.

The second and third messages are from his siblings. There is a short message from Leo: _I’ve sent you an email_ which was followed by a similarly short message from Camilla: _Call me Darling, please?_

His heart twisted, he had been so selfish to let his guard down - he could imagine that right now Leo was lying in bed awake wondering if his dream would ever be a realitiy, and Camilla would no doubt be beside herself worrying about his state of mind and wellbeing.  
Guilt was replaced by frustration when he opened the fourth message. It was from Charlotte and she had decided to send her message in large, bold text. _**WHAT THE HELL?! ARE YOU GODDAMN SERIOUS YOU JACKASS?**_ Marx rolled his eyes and deleted the message without replying, vaguely wondering how Charlotte got his number.

In fact as he went through them - all of the remaining text messages appeared to be from Charlotte, and contained insulting expletives about his character, the size of his manhood and his overall performance in the bedroom. Marx sent a single abrupt message back to her saying he didn’t recall her complaining at the time, and then deleted all of her messages and quickly blocked her number. They’d had some good times together but their relationship had soured somewhat once the money and lavish life style had dried up, and Marx had made the decision he didn’t want that kind of relationship or the link to his past life. Fresh starts and all that he had told himself, and he felt even more glad he’d had the sense to call off their engagement shortly before his fight contract came through.

Then he looked at the missed called on his phone - 5 were from Camilla, 3 from Charlotte, 2 from unknown numbers, one from Gunther and one from a Hoshidan number that he assumed was Skyhorse Magazine.

Charlotte’s calls were a non-issues, and by his count his siblings should be asleep now, but he if he knew them, Camilla wouldn’t be resting until she’d heard back and he didn’t want to leave them to worry. He deleted all traces of Charlotte’s contacts, and then sent a text back to Camilla saying he would call once he’s finished at the gym with Gunther and she is not worry or do anything rash, and then a message to Leo saying he’s heading out the gym but he’ll check his message and call him separately. Leo pinged back almost immediately with a short _‘Okay’_ and then a _‘Be careful alright?’_ , and Marx replies telling him to get his head out of his books and go to bed. As for the unknown numbers… Marx has never been fond of calling back numbers he is not familiar with so decides if it’s urgent they can ring again.

He changed quickly into his training gear, grabbed his bag and headed out. He’s half way down the corridor when he realises he doesn’t have a phone number for Hinoka, and when he arrives at the gym he is faced with a furious Gunter. The first thing that pops into his head as his handler scowls at him is that he wishes that he had a way to contact her, although what he would say to her, he doesn’t know.

***

Gunter announced that they were going to practice striking, and he is going to be his sparring partner. Marx has been in more than his fair share of fights over the years; and his handler is advancing in years but his experience and his opponent’s age don’t mean a thing today. He doesn’t say anything about Marx’s drunken marriage with words but doesn’t need to, instead throwing his charge around the ring with little care to hide how he really feels. Marx is hurting when the session is over, and as he heads to the showers his thoughts fall back to Hinoka. Neither she, nor Asama were at the training session; and he hoped she was having a better day than he was.

***

After finishing in the shower, Gunter practically man-handled him out of the gym’s back door and into a rental car. If he’s honest, while he’s glad to avoid the general press, the situation brings up some uncomfortable memories but a small voice in his head tells him he only has himself to blame.

“Where are we going?” is all he dared to ask.

“Out of town,” grunted Gunter in reply, And he drove him away. Their journey takes them to to a relatively small town about an hour and half outside of Amusia. They pull up in front of a shabby looking building - Benny’s - and go in. Inside looks better than outside, but not by much. There are a number of booths here and a large television, on it is the build up to the first fights of the tournament that are happening that evening. Behind the counter, stood a large, tall man, cleaning a glass. His expression is intense and he could be called intimidating - the whole place is almost a perfectly parody of a dive bar, but Marx is surprised when the man behind the counter cracks a nervous smile and speaks in Nohrian to them. “Hey there, take a seat in any booth you want.” Marx can’t help but stare but the man didn’t seem to mind. “I’m a huge fan,” was all he said in response to his staring. The man tried to smile, he assumed to appear open, but only managed to look uncomfortable. Marx internally sympathised with him.

Once they were seated, the patron brings over soft drinks and food. “On the house!” he said excitedly. It almost unnerved Marx, with how his behaviour did not match his fearsome visage and it briefly crossed his mind - how _did_ Gunter manage to find these places?

Gunter didn’t seem bothered though. Instead, he’d pulled out a binder and slid it towards Marx. “We’ll be free from distractions here, so we’re not going to be octagon-side tonight. Focus. Read.”

Marx opened the binder, and inside he saw that while he was getting married, Gunter had been doing his homework. There are details on nearly all of the fighters that had entered the tournament - stats, press cuttings and interviews. As Marx cast his eye over the details of a ‘Mattias Scarlet’ his curiosity gets the better of him. “How do you know this place?”

“Benny’s an old friend. He doesn’t get much Nohrian business out this way, so he’s always happy to help a fellow countryman.” Gunter paused. “He understands how tough a fresh start can be, and the importance of being free from distraction.”

Marx frowns, and the two fall silent and he browses the binder. He’s not sure how much time has passed when he is kicked by Gunter who nods at the television screen. Flashing up are the details of a certain Ryouma Byukuya, champion judo master and one of the tournament’s hot favourites. The TV spot flashes through various interviews he’s given in the past peppered with montages of his fight victories.

“Look at him,” said Gunter, as clip plays of Ryouma throwing an opponent on the floor before locking in a submission hold that looks like it will snap his opponent’s arm right off. “Think you can put your new brother down if it came to it?”

Marx scowled at the television before turning back to the binder and staring hard a potential opponent hailing from Dia. “He’s just another privileged pretty boy,” he mumbles in reply but he feels conflict rising within him. He knows he has to do well in the this tournament to cover Leo’s college fees but also to bring home some cash to support Camilla and Elise too. It’s the least he can do given his selfish actions but now… now there is another part and the red hair of the fighter he is currently studying brings it to the forefront. He liked Hinoka, and didn’t want to hurt her or put her in an uncomfortable position. It’s a conflict he needs to overcome, and quickly.

It’s as if Gunter is reading his mind. “I’ll call Fuga, and ask him to assign a new photographer.”

“No!” Marx almost surprised himself with the force of his denial. He cleared his throat. “No,” he said more calmly. “Hinoka is talented and un-intrusive. She shouldn’t be punished for something she wasn’t responsible for.” He paused. “I’m not working with anyone else from Skyhorse. It’s her or nothing.”

Gunter smirked in reply. “Don’t throw it all away for a pretty bit.”

“She’s more than that.”

***

They stayed at the bar all day. The bar was quiet but the patron brought them food and on odd occasions stopped for a chat. Marx couldn’t help but like him - he’d come to Amusia to work as a clown taming animals at Keaton and Kaeden’s World Famous Circus - but while he loved his animal friends, he had hated the spotlight so had moved away. His out-of-the-way bar suited him well and he made just enough from passing trade to keep going - one day though, he’d like to shut up shop and start a sanctuary for ex-performing animals.

He was a decent guy, and even angled the television so Marx and Gunter could see it better, and turned up the volume when the first fight of the tournament came on: Hoshido’s favourite son vs. one of Amusia’s finest.

The fights at elite level have five four-minute rounds, but Ryouma Byakuya submits his opponent halfway through the first after dazing the unfortunate Amusian with a punch to the head and throwing him to ground before applying a choke hold. “He’s the one to beat,” said Gunter eyes fixed on the screen, as the station replays Ryouma pouncing on his opponent in slow motion. “Looks like he has a fire in his soul.” He then added dryly, “I wonder why.”

The camera had switched angles now, and Ryouma was staring directly at it as if he was looking straight into the bar where they currently were. Marx could not tear himself away, returning the glare at the screen, as if he was right at ring side. He'd already promised Hinoka he would focus on the tournament so he is sure she'll understand. Besides - there’s no guarantee that a man that fights as a second job would make it to finals. And he isn’t prepared to let Leo, or Camilla, or Elise down any more than he already has.

“I’ll do what needs to be done,” he said darkly. Words that he was not saying for the first time.

Finally Gunter seemed pleased. “That’s my boy.”


	2. Cake Crumbs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wrote a lot of things for my Nagamas entry but not all of them made it in, and because it 'Tis the Season, I am posting them here in all their dorky, unpolished glory.

**The Skype Call**

When he’s back at his laptop, the first thing he does is search for Leo’s email. It’s there at the top of the list, but the subject is blank. Marx is vaguely worried about what he’ll find, he’s been worried about the tirade from his younger, more precocious brother ever since his text this morning. Instead though, it’s a list of local universities that run the same course that he was hoping to study in Shirasagi and there is a spreadsheet attachment that illustrates the difference in fees as well. Somehow, this makes him feel worse. He sends a short email back.

Concentrate on your test point average. I’ll concentrate on getting on getting you into Shirasagi U.

Marx looks at his phone pensively. He’d worked hard to get to where he was today… but he still had some connections. Quickly doing some maths in his head, he worked out he could still get a decent fight purse even if he lost in the first round, and if that happened he could make a few calls to ‘supplement’ it if things fell a little short… but that train of thought was swiftly derailed by a well timed text from Camilla, telling him she was awake.

He opened the long distance chat programme and after a couple of rings, his sister popped up on the screen. Camilla had her hair tied back and she was smiling, Elise was there too - bouncy as ever, with a huge grin on her face. Seeing his sisters happy pushed the thought of darker times back to the darkest depths of his mind, where they belonged.

Before he could even say hello, Elise squeaked and blurted out, “She’ really pretty Big Brother!!!” but then she pouted a little. “But why didn’t you tell us huh?” He catches Camilla behind her, a bemused smile on her face.

Elise isn’t wrong about Hinoka being attractive. He does his best to smile, and tells his little sister things are a little more complicated than that. Elise looks confused, but before she can question further, Marx asks her about Charlotte.

His little sister is oblivious to the tone in his questioning. “Oh yeah! She called late last night! It was so nice to speak to her, she was really sweet! She said she wanted to congratulate you so I gave her your number!”

Marx rubbed his forehead, suddenly feeling very tired. He didn’t want to be annoyed, but events were starting to catch up with him. Luckily Camilla catches on in the way only she can and strokes Elise’s head tenderly. “Perhaps Sweet, next time Charlotte calls, you pass the phone straight to me, hmm?”

“Okay!” replies Elise happily, seemly oblivious. Camilla then sends her off with a smile and a cheery, “It is school tomorrow, Dear!”. Elise blows Marx a kiss and skips off.

After their younger sister disappears, Camilla’s smile drops and she leans into the computer screen, like she thinks it will help no-one else hear.

“ _What on. earth. were. you. thinking?!_ ” she hisses. “There’s a mob of photographers all outside our house! At this rate we’ll have to move again!” Marx felt a wave of shame wash over him but he does his best not to show it. Over the years he has gotten good at his poker face.

Camilla placed her head in head in a hand and tilts to side. “I’m sorry Marx, I… I’m just worried, that was so unlike you. I just don’t want you to lose focus and get hurt… you won’t do anything else that’s silly will you?”

“Camilla,” he says with a sigh. “You all mean too much to me for me to throw it away now. Besides, I’ve faced worse.”

His sister smiles, but it is painful; she proceeds to heavily quiz Marx on Amusia, his opponents, and his new wife. By the time he’s done (and talked Camilla out of jumping on the next plane to supervise him) he checks his diary - there are two hours between now and his next appointment - a weigh in, and the draw to find out who he’ll be fighting in the first round. He sets his alarm for an hour’s time and dozes off, thinking that all things considered Camilla had let him off lightly, and wondered vaguely if Hinoka’s family were as understanding.

***

**The Weight In**

He gets his answer when he arrives down at the conference room with Gunter. A flash of cameras go off in his face and he does everything not to wince at the lights as he is guided to a quieter area where fighters and their entourages are waiting. Asama and Hinoka are there too in to booth reserved for him, and they both look drained, in fact it’s everything Marx can do not to stare at Hinoka as her eyes look red to him. It tugs at him, but he doesn’t have a chance to speak to her before the weigh-ins start.

Marx is drawn in the first round against a fighter from Cheve. He weighs in perfectly and as he squared up to his opponent, he is vaguely aware of Hinoka in the background snapping away. She is doing a job she loves according to Asama, but she does not look happy.

The pre-fight press conference is excruciating as there are many questions about his maritial status but Marx is steadfastly refuses to say anything about it. Hinoka gives him a grateful smile from behind her camera and his heart soars… until a Hoshidan journalist asks him if he often gets distracted by a pretty face, and whether it will cost him the contest. He notices Hinoka’s face dropping and suddenly feels protective, and it’s all he can do not to scowl. He tells the journalist to keep watching, and he’ll get his reply in the ring.

***

**The Text Conversation**

_Hinoka, are you okay? You looked upset at the press conference._

A reply to his delight came quickly, but he felt angry when he read her words. I _’m fine, it’s just my family being… stupid. My father is threatening to fly out here, like I'm a naughty child._

Marx frowned as he texted back. I _’m sorry for causing you such trouble._

Pausing in thought, he then sent two further messages:

_Are you sure you want to wait until the end of the tournament?_   
_I don’t want you to cause problems with your family._

The speech bubble popped up to show she was replying and then: _No, it’s fine. They can wait, and I meant it when I said you needed to concentrate on your fight._

_If you’re sure._ His drunken foolishness had caused her a lot of trouble, and wanted to give her an out,

_I am._   
_Thank you though, Marx. Your concern is very thoughtful._   
_:)_

For some reason the smiley face at the end of her final message made the trials and tribulations of the day all worth it.

***

_**The Pre-Fight Big Damn Kiss** _

“Good luck,” she said quietly. Then she stood on tiptoes and placed the lightest of kisses on his cheek. His reflexive action was to place his hands softly on her waist, a caress almost, and he couldn’t help but notice a small gasp escape from her. But she didn’t move away, instead looking intently at him; her hands open placed on his chest. He cursed his inability to speak Nestra standard more fluently, but he managed to string a short sentence together. “I win for you,” he said quietly. “Make good photo.”

The smile she gave him filled him with confidence, and feeling brave, he leant down to return her affections, placing a lingering kiss gently on her lips. He pulled back ever so slightly but her hands balled, grasping the fabric of his shirt to keep him close. Taking her reluctance to have him move away as permission, he moved in again to deepen the kiss, and they became lost in each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sad that I didn't find a way to make the Skype call to Elise and Camilla fit. 
> 
> There were parts that were rejected because I felt I took too many liberties with my source, and then parts that just popped into my head but I wasn't able to make them fit into the main body, or make them long enough.
> 
> The kiss was rejected because writing that was REALLY HARD and is probably the most NSFW I'll ever go.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Nagamas DameCeles C: Posting a bit early because the holiday season is likely to be a bit crazy and I don't want to miss the deadline.
> 
> Thank you for letting me play in the Bird's Milk sandbox, it was fun and I really hope you like it! (I wrote /a lot/ for this, so I think it would be better here than entirely on Tumblr.) 
> 
> I had so many ideas for this one! Originally the idea was going to focus on Marx having to deal with several people in his life while trying to get Hinoka's phone number, but it was getting too big and so eventually morphed in Marx having to face the reality of Gunter and his annoyance. 
> 
> (Other ideas involved Mikoto being an unlikely ally for Hinoka, and college moving in day featuring Leo and Marx coming face to face to Takumi and Ryouma; with awkward as heck shenanigans ensuing but sadly didn't really get very far with those. 
> 
> I imagined Keaton and Kaeden's Circus to be a little bit like Siegfried and Roy... if I had more time I would definitely take a trip there.


End file.
